This invention relates generally to system integration, and more particularly to a system and method for enabling users to promote information exchange between systems.
Computers have enabled businesses to automate many manual business processes. As these business processes were typically segmented along departmental lines, the computer systems that automated those business processes were also segmented along departmental lines. The result was an enterprise consisting of a set of narrowly-focused systems that did little more than automate the same steps and procedures that comprised the manual business process. These systems lacked interoperability or any means of integration with other systems. Accordingly, it was difficult to create a single, comprehensive view of customers, their behavior, and their value to the company.
Today's corporate infrastructure typically includes a wide variety of information systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems that further interact with custom applications, databases, and network technologies. This complex mix of information technology has created significant integration issues. In particular, customers often require a level of integration that enables the exchange of real-time business data among ERP/CRM systems, legacy systems, and/or external business partners. What is needed therefore is a mechanism that promotes integration within a broader enterprise framework.